If there is a more representative 27 outs of the past three years of Astros baseball, I challenge you to find it. The Astros one-hit the Mariners, and lost 4-2.
Let's just get a sense of how shameful of a loss this is:
*Via Jeff Sullivan, the Astros became the 51st team in baseball history to lose a game in which the losing team one-hit their opponent. All-time record for teams getting one hit in a game? 51-1,037.
*We also learn that the Mariners are the first team in baseball history to score 4+ runs on one hit and not reach via an error.
*The one hit allowed is, of course, the fewest the Astros have allowed this season, and the fewest they've allowed since July 8, 2010. All-time in franchise history when allowing zero or one hit? 34-3. There have been ten no-hitters in Astros history, which means that the Astros are now 24-2 when allowing one hit. The other loss? September 4, 1974 when two unearned runs resulted in a 2-1 Reds win.
*Thanks to a reminder from FieldLevelView, the Astros did lose an April 23, 1964 game in which they threw a no-hitter, once again to the Reds.
*CSN's Dave Zangaro noted that Bedard is the first pitcher since 1916 (when they started keeping records like this) to throw 6+IP with no hits and ten strikeouts and still take a loss.
*Two Mariners runs came on passed balls by Jason Castro, the 8th and 9th passed balls of the season. This puts him in a tie for 2nd in MLB, one behind J.P. Arencibia.
*Astros pitchers allowed six walks. Bedard had five, Cisnero had one. The most amazing thing is that it was the 18th time the Astros have walked 6+ batters this season. They're 2-16 when it happens.
*Tonight was the third start in his last four where Bedard walked 5+ batters. That's 18 walks in his past 23IP.
*Of course, his 10 strikeouts are a season high, and the most since he struck out 11 Cubs in a 2-0 loss on July 23, 2012.
*Leadoff hitter Carlos Pena was 0x3 with two strikeouts and a walk (0x2 w/RISP), and is now hitting .209/.324/.350. Before tonight he had only hit leadoff in 56 plate appearances, and had a .196/.321/.522 line (again, before tonight). Why in the hell is he hitting lead-off? Maybe because he has the highest walk % on the team. Which, of course, isn't saying much, but the Astros are giving the highest number of plate appearances to a guy with a .209 average (.325 OBP) on a .279 BABIP.
*The Astros were 1x9 with runners in scoring position, 5x22 in these two games.
*The Astros are 3-11 in July. Since the beginning of the Cubs series at Wrigley on June 21, the Astros are 5-17.
Man of the Match: There isn't one.
Goat of the Game: Everybody.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
